Trick-or-Treat

In the hush of twilight's purple bloom, I wandered, where the old oaks loom, On All Hallows' Eve, in masquerade, With a bag in hand, through the mist I waded. The streets were lined with jack-o'-lanterns' glow, Their toothy grins seemed to leer and know, The secrets of the night, the whispers of the dead, As I trick-or-treated, a shivering thread. The houses stood, some dark, some bright, Some welcoming, others a blight, I approached the one, they said was cursed, Where the old witch lived, or so the legend versed. Her door creaked open, a silent plea, To accept her treat, or face her glee, A candy black as the darkest pit, I took it in my hand, and felt terror hit. The night turned cold, the stars blinked out, My heart pounded with an eerie shout, The candy in my bag began to thrash, As if alive, a sound like glass. I ran through yards, past ghosts and ghouls, The candy's writhing made me drool with fear, Home at last, I threw the bag aside, But what I saw when I looked inside... A shadow rose, a figure so grim, It spoke in rhymes, its voice so dim, "A trick for your treat, a soul for a soul, For on this night, you've played your role." It reached for me, its fingers cold, Its eyes like empty pits, a sight to behold, I screamed and woke, it was but a dream, Or so it seemed, in the moon's soft beam. For on my floor, the candy lay still, A gift from the witch, a haunted will, And as I watched, it moved with a lurch, Trick-or-treating's horror had surfaced from the murk.